Windows XP very slow after downgrade from Vista

Discussion in 'Windows - General discussion' started by Code_Blue, Jan 20, 2009.

  1. Code_Blue

    Code_Blue Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2008
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hey everyone,

    I have a huge problem here. You see my dad bought a Toshiba Satellite laptop and it had Vista Ultimate pre-installed ready to go. Later he decided to downgrade to Windows XP Pro because we really hated the Vista interface. And the computer is great it's 2.6GHz Intel Duo Core Processor, 260 Gigs of HD space, 3 gigs of ram, Intel Graphics, etc. So overall it's a great computer. So later I brought my XP CD and I decided to do a complete format of the Hard Drive for a clean, reliable OS install. Then after XP installation was completed, the computer just runs REALLY sluggish. I probably restarted my computer up to 13 times today. I thought it was because of the drivers so I installed new drivers and looked at the BIOS settings, but no it's still the same. Obviously this does not make any sense since Windows Vista craves for good Computer Specs compared to XP which this computer should run like a charm. Please help me out ASAP. Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2009
  2. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,167
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    143
    have you installed the motherboard chipset driver?
     
  3. silk42

    silk42 Regular member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Messages:
    591
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
  4. KC108

    KC108 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2008
    Messages:
    52
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I've been having the exact same issue as well! It's not just the computer, it's the internet browsers as well (IE, MF, Safari, Chrome). Before, when I had Vista it was super quick. Now some pages don't even load including iTunes (which means I can't buy music).

    As well, in Windows Live Messenger, some of my contacts have special characters like Chinese or some crazy character which I could see on Vista, now I can't see; instead there are square boxes. I've tried installing the other languages but still no luck.

    Any insight on these problems?
    Thanks.
     
  5. xtend

    xtend Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2004
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    install adobe flash player , java 6 update 11 , also .net 2.0 . i use avg free 8.0 for antivirus.i would update to sp3 when possible .
     
  6. KC108

    KC108 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2008
    Messages:
    52
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I already have both of those. As you can see above, I posted twice because the first time it didn't show up so i resubmitted it and then refreshed the page. It took about 2 minutes to load.
     
  7. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,167
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    143
    deleted 2nd post as might be ad server issue.
     
  8. 1234aaron

    1234aaron Regular member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2007
    Messages:
    324
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Windows vista uses all of the L2 cache on the CPU and XP doesnt. Im not sure if thats whats making it slow but its easy to fix.

    by default windows doesn't recognise your L2 cache on processor and doesn't make use of it, to enable it run regedit and navigate to

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > MemoryManagment

    there is a DWORD called "SecondLevelDataCache" double click it, select Decimal and set the amount of L2 cache you have (e.g. if you have 256KB, then just type 256, and make sure you enter it in Decimal, not Hexadecimal)

    tell me if i helped! :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2009
  9. hy56o

    hy56o Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2009
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    I have the same problem, even worse my laptop crashes after heating up too much. Can someone clarify how to find your L2 cache please?
     
  10. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,167
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    143
    the L2 cache is part of the cpu not part of the motherboard as an add-on. sounds like a thermal shut down so give the fan(s) a cleanout. also make certain the fan(s) are working.
     
  11. hy56o

    hy56o Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2009
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Thanks for the clarification, I just figured out that I need to download the XP drivers for my computer which is probably why its so slow. Does anyone have a list of drivers for CPU, graphics, sound etc... for a Compaq Presario CQ50-110US notebook. I've tried looking around but my laptop keeps crashing so I cant really get anything done.
     
  12. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,167
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    143
  13. hy56o

    hy56o Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2009
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    Thanks a lot for the help. Is there a chipset driver for my Turion X2 RM-70 Dual-Core Mobile Processor, or should I just get the one posted from Nvidia?
     
  14. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,167
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    143
    don't think there is a driver for a cpu.
     

Share This Page